The New Orleans Saints had to be thrilled when future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement, effectively ending the stranglehold the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had on the NFC South. 

With strategically placed moves like acquiring quarterback Derek Carr, running back Jamaal Williams, and tight end Foster Moreau, plus revamping their defensive line in free agency and the NFL Draft, the Saints are primed to take back the division crown in 2023.

One person is taking it a step further. 

Fox Sports gambling analyst Jason McIntyre, who also appears on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd on FS1, made five bold predictions for the 2023 season on Wednesday, and the one on the Saints was a doozy.

The winner of the NFC will be the New Orleans Saints 

J-Mac's thoughts: "Derek Carr finally gets on a winning team. The Saints have a pretty damn good roster with a lot of veterans. They know how to win. Last year, at this time, no one had the Eagles going to the Super Bowl. They came out of nowhere. That Saints' division, they could easily go 6-0." –FoxSports.com

Now that might be classified as more than bold. 

This isn't to say the Saints won't have a successful season. 

New Orleans has a talented roster, and with no Brady around, the NFC South is more than winnable. However, with teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings to name a few in their way, the Saints winning the entire conference will take an extraordinary effort on their part and the injury gods being on their side, plus other teams would need to have quite a bit on misfortune.

It's only July, so statements like this are running rapidly throughout the NFL until actual games get played. But if the Saints were to pull this off, McIntyre will look like a genius. 

Former first-round pick makes bold proclamation about the Saints

This is a very optimistic viewpoint.

Feature image via Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports